Report on the World Darts Federation’s Gender-Eligibility Policy and its Conflict with Sustainable Development Goals

A new gender-eligibility policy enacted by the World Darts Federation (WDF) raises significant concerns regarding its alignment with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning equality, inclusion, and health.

Policy Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The policy directly contravenes the core principles of SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. By excluding transgender women from female competitions, the WDF is limiting the full and effective participation of a segment of women in public and sporting life, undermining progress toward universal equality.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The decision exacerbates disparities and works against the objective of SDG 10. The policy institutionalizes inequality by targeting a specific marginalized group. Affected athletes, such as champion Noa-Lynn van Leuven, have noted that such policies, while framed around fairness, ultimately result in exclusion and deepen societal divisions.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: This goal calls for effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. The WDF’s resolution, which restricts participation based on birth-assigned gender, can be viewed as a failure to foster an inclusive environment. It challenges the role of sporting bodies in building just and inclusive societies for all.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The exclusion from sport and community activities can have a detrimental impact on the mental and physical well-being of individuals, which is contrary to the aims of SDG 3. The distress expressed by van Leuven, who described the policy as heartbreaking, highlights the potential for negative health outcomes resulting from such exclusionary measures.

Details of the World Darts Federation (WDF) Policy Change

The WDF’s new gender-eligibility policy, which is effective immediately, establishes new criteria for participation in its events.

Key Provisions of the New Rule

• Entry into women’s and girls’ ranking tournaments is now restricted to players who were “recorded female at birth.”
• As a result, transgender women are ineligible to compete in female-only events.
• Transgender men are permitted to compete in female events, on the condition that they are not undergoing hormone treatment.
• All transgender athletes remain eligible to compete in the WDF’s open category competitions.

Stakeholder Response and Broader Context

The policy has elicited strong reactions and is situated within a broader trend of similar restrictions across the sporting world.

Reactions and Precedents

• Transgender darts champion Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who has won several women’s titles, will be barred from future WDF female tournaments. She described the policy as a “loss for the trans community in sports.”
• The WDF confirmed the decision was made following a majority vote at its General Meeting and stated it has contacted member countries to discuss the changes with affected players.
• This move by the WDF is consistent with a recent pattern of sports organizations banning or restricting the participation of transgender women. This trend has been observed across multiple governing bodies, including:

1. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
2. The World Athletics Council
3. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 5: Gender Equality

• The article directly addresses gender equality by focusing on the rights and inclusion of transgender women in sports. The debate over the World Darts Federation’s (WDF) policy, which excludes transgender women from female competitions, is central to the theme of ensuring equality for all women, including those who are transgender. The policy is presented as a setback for inclusion and is framed as discriminatory, which relates to the core mission of SDG 5 to end discrimination against all women and girls.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• This goal is highly relevant as the article highlights a policy that creates and reinforces inequality based on gender identity. The WDF’s decision to ban transgender women from female competitions is a direct example of a rule that reduces opportunities and inclusion for a specific marginalized group. Noa-Lynn van Leuven’s statement that the policy results in “exclusion” directly connects to SDG 10’s aim to empower and promote the social inclusion of all, irrespective of sex or other status.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The article touches upon SDG 16 by discussing the role of institutions in creating and enforcing policies. The WDF, as an international governing body, has implemented a policy that is described as discriminatory. This relates to the goal of building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. The article shows how an institution’s policy can either promote or undermine principles of justice and non-discrimination.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

   The article highlights the implementation of a policy by the WDF that explicitly prohibits transgender women from competing in female events. This is described by athlete Noa-Lynn van Leuven as a “loss for the trans community” and an act of “exclusion.” This policy can be seen as a form of discrimination against a specific group of women, directly opposing the objective of this target.

2. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

   The WDF’s new rule actively works against this target by creating a barrier to social inclusion in sports for transgender women. Van Leuven’s comment about the importance of “inclusion… in practice” underscores the negative impact of the policy. The decision effectively disempowers and excludes athletes based on their gender identity, which falls under “other status.”

3. Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices.

   The article is centered on a new “discriminatory” policy that reduces “equal opportunity” for transgender athletes. The WDF’s gender-eligibility rule is a clear example of a practice that creates an inequality of outcome by banning an entire group from participation. The article also mentions a “long list of national and international sports organizations” that have enacted similar restrictive policies, indicating a trend that runs counter to this target.

4. Target 16.b: Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.

   This target is relevant as the article discusses the enforcement of a policy by a major sports institution (WDF) that is explicitly discriminatory. The article details how the federation, along with other bodies like the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and World Athletics Council, has adopted and is enforcing rules that exclude a protected group, which is the opposite of the goal stated in this target.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. Existence of discriminatory policies based on gender identity.

   The article provides a clear, qualitative indicator for measuring progress (or lack thereof) towards non-discrimination. The primary evidence is the WDF’s “new gender-eligibility policy” which states that entry to women’s tournaments is “only be open to players who were ‘recorded female at birth.'” The article also cites President Trump’s executive order and similar bans by other sports organizations as further examples of such discriminatory policies.

2. Level of inclusion and participation of transgender individuals in public life, specifically sports.

   The article implies an indicator related to participation rates. The banning of Noa-Lynn van Leuven, a “darts champion who has won several women’s titles,” from all WDF female tournaments is a direct measure of reduced participation. The policy’s effect is to make all transgender women “ineligible,” which can be measured as a direct barrier to inclusion in elite sports.

Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nbcnews.com